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Question

Difficulty: MediumConsonant Clusters

Match each English word on the left with the correct structural description of its spoken consonant cluster on the right.

  • sixthsFeatures a four-sound final consonant cluster (/ksθs/)
  • splendidFeatures a three-sound initial consonant cluster (/spl/)
  • burstsFeatures a three-sound final consonant cluster (/sts/) in standard British pronunciation
  • debtorContains a silent consonant letter ('b'), producing no medial cluster

Answer

The word 'sixths' matches the four-sound final cluster (/ksθs/); 'splendid' matches the three-sound initial cluster (/spl/); 'bursts' matches the three-sound final cluster (/sts/); and 'debtor' matches the presence of a silent letter ('b') with no medial cluster.
Each word is correctly paired based on its spoken phonemic structure: 'sixths' contains a four-consonant final cluster (/ksθs/); 'splendid' contains a three-consonant initial cluster (/spl/); 'bursts' contains a three-consonant final cluster (/sts/) in RP English; and 'debtor' contains a silent 'b', resulting in no medial cluster.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Transcribe each word phonetically according to standard spoken English rules rather than orthographic spelling.
'sixths' = /sɪksθs/, 'splendid' = /ˈsplen.dɪd/, 'bursts' = /bɜːsts/, 'debtor' = /ˈdet.ə/.
Consonant clusters are defined strictly by sequences of adjacent consonant phonemes in speech, not written letters.
2
Identify silent letters and non-rhotic vowel lengtheners that affect the count of spoken consonant sounds.
In 'debtor', the letter 'b' is silent. In 'bursts', the 'r' modifies the vowel without introducing a consonant phoneme in standard RP.
Orthography can obscure actual pronunciation by including unpronounced letters or vowel indicators.
3
Count the number of contiguous consonant phonemes in initial, medial, or final positions for each target word.
'sixths' has 4 final consonants (/k-s-θ-s/); 'splendid' has 3 initial consonants (/s-p-l/); 'bursts' has 3 final consonants (/s-t-s/); 'debtor' has no medial cluster.
Pairing each phonetic count and position to its corresponding structural description establishes the correct solution.

Key Concept

Identification of Spoken Consonant Clusters vs. Orthographic Spelling
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Topics

Consonant Clusters

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